CCNA past president and honorary life member Byron Keebaugh passed away on December 22 at age 81. Born in Holbein, near Prince Albert in northern Saskatchewan, Keebaugh first learned to handset type at the age of 13 in 1946 at The Preeceville (SK) Progress. Later he worked in Alberta and briefly in Vancouver before becoming Canada’s youngest publisher at the time when he purchased The Cut Knife (SK) Grinder.
In 1958 he moved to Lloydminster to found Meridian Printing, and a year later he established The Meridian Booster, then a four-column, offset advertising sheet. In 1965 he co-founded The Bonnyville (Alta.) Nouvelle and in 1974 he started The Grande Prairie (Alta.) Booster. He later sold his interest in both these papers and went become the majority owner of The Meadow Lake (SK) Progress and Sun.
Keebaugh served as CCNA president from 1989 to 1990 and was named a CCNA honorary life member in 1999. He also served as the president of the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association and on the AWNA board for 11 years.
